Yamaha Racing’s managing director Paolo Pavesio has acknowledged the significant difficulties the team faces with its new V4-powered MotoGP bike, which will compete full-time starting in 2026. Following a series of wild-card races with the Inline M1 model last season, the debut of the V4 at the opening round in Buriram, Thailand, exposed the extensive development needed for the machine to catch up with rivals.
During the race weekend, Yamaha’s qualifying results placed Fabio Quartararo 16th, while Jack Miller finished 15th in the Sprint race and Quartararo 14th in the main Grand Prix. The V4 bike was approximately one second slower per lap than the front runners, with anticipated improvements in rear tire grip yet to materialize and engine performance still lagging behind competitive manufacturers.
Challenges Revealed at Buriram Point to Hard Road Ahead
Pavesio explained that Yamaha’s move to the V4 engine was partly driven by upcoming aerodynamic regulations for the 2027 season, which will favor a narrower chassis aligned with the new 850cc engine formula. Despite the obstacles faced this season, Yamaha remains dedicated to systematically closing the performance gap.
We are on a journey which we decided to start last year, anticipating a project based on a new engine and a completely new concept,
Pavesio said following the Thai Grand Prix, where he spoke on behalf of riders Quartararo and Alex Rins.
He further expressed commitment:
“Now we see very clearly what the gap is, and we understand that we have quite a mountain to climb. But we are committed, as we were before when we took the decision, to make those steps, one after the other.”
The Yamaha team and its riders have been pushing at full capacity, determined to progress steadily.
“Our riders gave 110%, the company is giving 110%, and we will keep doing so, and this is the only way. There will be no magic, one step after the other, one second after the other.”
We are determined to grow the project up to the moment we will be competitive again.
Ongoing Development and Learning Curve for the New Machine
Regarding the timeline to reach competitiveness, Pavesio noted the difficulty in specifying exact periods, emphasizing that each track outing teaches the team new lessons that require refinement.
“It’s very difficult to give a number. It’s clear we are discovering things every time we go on track that we have to improve. We are still understanding, I would say, the base setting of the machine.”
Thanks to regulation concessions, Yamaha can develop the bike more extensively throughout the season than competitors, allowing them to experiment and enhance performance continuously.
So I expect this season to have a growing trajectory.
Comparison Between Inline and V4 Machines Highlights Trade-Offs
The previous inline engine was more competitive in qualifying, especially in the hands of Quartararo, who secured five pole positions in 2025. Pavesio acknowledged the decision to transition to the V4 involved compromises, particularly in outright flying lap speed.
We knew that we could have lost something in the beginning on the flying lap, where we could achieve a very good level last year,
he said.
It’s something we were understanding to sacrifice, to give more consistency during the races.
Although the V4’s Sprint race deficit compared to the winning pace was similar to the previous year, the gap during the longer Grand Prix race increased noticeably.
“I would say [the Sprint] was not too bad. The gap from the first Yamaha to the winner was exactly the same as last year – at a start point for the project – but clearly in the long race, we have suffered a bit more,”
Pavesio admitted.
During the 2025 Thai Sprint, Quartararo finished seventh, 13.4 seconds behind the winner, while Miller placed 15th on the V4 this year with a nearly identical gap of 13.5 seconds. However, Miller had crashed out from sixth place in the previous season’s Sprint, just ahead of Quartararo.
In the 2025 Thai Grand Prix, Miller finished 11th, 22.3 seconds behind that year’s victor, Marc Marquez, which was closer by 8.5 seconds than Quartararo’s deficit on the current V4, and 25.5 seconds better than Miller’s own pace on the V4 this season.
Implications for Yamaha’s MotoGP Future
Yamaha’s full commitment to developing the V4 project reflects both the challenges and opportunities inherent in transitioning to a new engine architecture amid evolving technical regulations. The firm’s use of concessions to accelerate learning and improvement illustrates a strategic approach aimed at regaining competitiveness. The severity of the performance gap observed in Thailand serves as an early indicator of the extensive refinement still required.
Given the expected aerodynamic rules in 2027 and the 850cc engine framework, Yamaha’s work on this V4 machine is laying crucial groundwork for future seasons. The team’s methodical, step-by-step progression, supported by dedicated riders like Fabio Quartararo and Jack Miller, suggests a cautious but hopeful path forward in a highly competitive MotoGP environment.
